Tag Archives: Troilus and Cressida

In the days since his death on 18 January 2018, tributes have flooded in for theatre director John Barton. He was invited to help form the RSC by Peter Hall in the early sixties and both were hugely influential. While … Continue reading →

On 25 October 2016 theatre director Howard Davies died at the age of 71. He had a full and successful career working in theatres around the country, but for me he is associated with the Royal Shakespeare Company during … Continue reading →

The knives have certainly been out since the Referendum vote on 23 June, and in the last week the Shakespearean references have been flying thick and fast, though the whole concept of a referendum would have been completely alien to … Continue reading →

Every few years the tragedies of ancient Greece seem to come back into fashion, and just now, in 2015, several theatres are staging revivals or adaptations of these powerful ancient plays. On 24 March the Almeida’s new season goes on … Continue reading →

The final of the Great British Bake-Off screens on the evening of 8 October. Watching this immensely popular series over the last few weeks I wondered how much Shakespeare knew about how his food was produced, and whether he ever … Continue reading →

It is up to us to capture [the audience’s] attention and compel its belief. To do so we must prove that there will be no trickery, nothing hidden. We must open our empty hands and show that really there is … Continue reading →

The actor Peter O’Toole has recently announced his retirement from stage and screen, shortly before his 80th birthday. His reason? “The heart for it has gone out of me: it won’t come back.” It occurred to me that it’s unusual … Continue reading →

Drought, crop failure, disease. The TV shows pictures of helpless people trying to dig in soil as dry as dust: unless international action is taken to help they will soon become heart-wrenching images of starving children. In Kenya alone there … Continue reading →

In Part 1 I looked at some of Shakespeare’s references to whales, and the history of whaling in Spitsbergen. This time I’m looking at the stories of adventurers who headed north. The very first English trading company was established by … Continue reading →